Wading Through the Storms of Life

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

The trials of fire and water can be in the context of natural disasters or they can be in the context of figurative calamities which come upon us rapidly and are immediately overwhelming to us personally.  Whether our trials are figurative or literal, God promises that we shall not be consumed by any trouble or peril that threatens to distress us greatly.  In fact, God assures us that He plans to turn our trials to our advantage.  He intends to teach and instruct us through our afflictions as He delivers us out of them.

Suffering will come in our lives.  It is not a matter of if, it is only a matter of when.  We can be comforted in knowing that through all these trying times that God will be with us.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He promises to not only guide us and strengthen us through these things that are so troublesome to our flesh, but to use each of these times to nurture us and draw us closer to Himself.

When all is said and done, we will find that it is during the times of suffering that we see the greatest transformation in our lives.  With our eyes focused on Our Savior and not our problems, we will see layers of self peeled away and the likeness of Christ rising up in us.  Through His grace, we will see the fires of chaos burn away our uneven edges and the overflowing waters carry away our dross.

Let us find Jesus in the storms of our lives.  Let us draw closer to Him as we receive the comfort, guidance and strength that He promises.  Let us grow spiritually through His nurturing during our times of greatest trial.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort of knowing that You are always with us.  We bless Your name for the strength that You provide for us to wade safely through the storm waters of life.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will teach us how to focus on Our Savior Jesus Christ and not on the trials that are trying to overwhelm us.  We pray that You will provide refreshing when we are so weary in the battle.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Fortress and Our Protector, Jesus Christ.

Living Free from the Darkness

John 12:35

So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

In the darkness, no work can be done and unseen pitfalls are perilously close by.  Left in the darkness, we will find ourselves wandering aimlessly on with no measure of progress.  Jesus warned that such a place was eminent for those who did not take advantage of the light that He provided.

Jesus is the light, the truth and the way.  When we let Him into our lives, His light reveals all the darkness in our flesh that stands ready to trap us.  His light illumines our way so that we can turn from the things in our lives that displease Our Heavenly Father.  His light frees us from the darkness where we are sure to find affliction, calamity and distress.  His light allows us to act as wise men and not as fools.

Jesus came and died on the Cross so that many may live in His light.  Those that choose to live in His light, He allows to be beacons to call others to His light and to be vessels for sharing the peace and protection that His light provides.  

Let us choose the paths for our lives that are illuminated by the presence of Our Savior.  Let us all be lamps that carry His glory.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.  We bless the name of Jesus who frees us from living in the blindness and darkness created and cultivated by our sin natures.  We thank You, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit illumines our paths each day.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and strengthen us as we choose to live in the Light.  We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

Desperate and Passionate for the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 13:44

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Every period in history has been marked by people who set out in expectation of finding hidden treasures.  All of these treasure hunters have had the same goal.  They sought to become suddenly rich.  They also shared something else.  Their passion to become rich drove them to give up all that they had in order to pursue their treasure.

Like these treasure hunters of times gone by, we would do well to find a passion for seeking the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven.  We should be willing to give up all that we have in order to pursue this treasure of unmeasurable worth.  Our efforts to attain this treasure must be the most important thing in our lives.  We cannot be undecided or unsure about what we are seeking.  We will only find the kingdom of heaven if we are desperate and passionate to receive it.

When we recognize Jesus Christ as the Pearl of Great Price, all other things should become worthless to us.  As we recognize what Jesus Christ gave up for us, should we not be willing to give up everything for Him?  In truth, there is no valuable consideration that can be given up for Him.  It is our willingness to part with our sinful nature that provides all the honors, riches and profits of the kingdom of heaven.

Let us surrender all that we are and all that we have to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Let us exchange all of the treasures of this world for the unmeasurable treasures of the kingdom of God.  May we let our passion for Jesus be the foundation of our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great treasure that You have set aside for us in heaven.  We exalt the name of Jesus Christ, the Pearl of Great Price, who has made it possible for us to live for all eternity in Your kingdom.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will guide us to experience the fullness of Your kingdom here on earth.  May the blessings and the lessons that Your Holy Spirit brings to us for our joy and our enlightenment help us to find our passion for Jesus Christ.  May we live our lives entirely for the honor and glory of You, Father, Your Son and Your Holy Spirit.  We ask all these things in the name of the Treasure of all treasures, Jesus Christ.

Facing Fiery Trials with Confidence

1 Peter 4:12

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Jesus makes it completely clear in His teaching that we should expect trials if we follow Him.  We should not be surprised by any painful trial that we may be going through.  Trials are part of the necessary process of growing our faith and our intimacy with Our Lord.

Our faith must be tested.  Without trials, we would soon believe that all of our good fortune was of our own making.  Through the trials, we build our confidence in Our Savior who faithfully delivers us from each and every challenging period in our lives.  His grace is always sufficient if we trust in Him.

Lifelong friendships and close personal relationships are usually the hallmarks of men who have gone to war together.  The time that the soldiers spend together in battle relying on one another results in bonds that are unbreakable.  So it will be with us in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  When we learn to rely on Him to take us through our battles in life, He will become our anchor during the mightiest of storms.  He will become our inseparable partner in victory.

Let us face every battle with the confidence that the victory will be ours.  Let us learn to trust everything to the One who is always at our side.  Let us build intimate relationships with Our Savior King who goes into each of our battles with us.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for being our rock and our foundation.  We thank You for Your faithfulness in delivering us from the fiery trials in our lives.  We pray that we will come to a place where we trust in Our Savior, Jesus Christ, for all things.   May our trust become so complete that we actually learn to rejoice in the face of our trials, knowing the victory is ours in all matters even unto death.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Refuge from the Storm, Jesus Christ.

Sharing in Jesus' Delight in Pleasing His Father

Psalm 40:8

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.

When David spoke of his desire to follow God's will for his life, he was patterning himself after Jesus.  Jesus did nothing without giving full consideration to the will of the Father.  Both Jesus' and David's hearts were set on pleasing the Father.  Each complied cheerfully.

If we start a new diet because we want the quick weight loss "guaranteed" in the rave reviews, we may find ourselves struggling to maintain the diet from the onset.  When we start a new diet because we have a passion for a happier, extended life to enjoy with our loved ones, we are more likely to get into the new regimen eagerly and consistently because of the higher purpose that drives our success.

When we seek to be faithful in following all of the commandments with the single purpose of avoiding sin, we are certain to struggle because our purpose is not high enough.  We must find our passion in our covenant with Jesus not in the law.   

Let us seek to know Jesus so intimately that we can enjoy His peace, His beauty, His mercy, His loving kindness and most of all share in His delight in pleasing His Father in heaven.   Let us learn to count it as joy to give up the things of the world for the glory of Our Heavenly Father. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so much that You gave us Your Son to come down from heaven to fulfill the law.  We bless the name of Jesus for His perfect obedience in doing Your will.  We ask that the Holy Spirit will help us to set our hearts upon Jesus instead of upon the law.  Oh Lord, we pray that we may take up our crosses daily with the same delight and pleasure that Jesus did when He fulfilled Your will for His life.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who is faithful and true, Jesus Christ.

Our Perfectly Answered Prayers

Matthew 7:9

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Prayer is an appointed means for obtaining what we need.  We are commanded in the Holy Word to pray often and to be persistent in praying for our needs.  Almighty God promises to hear our prayers in order to fulfill our needs in accordance with His will for our lives.  If this were not so, then we would not be instructed to make praying a daily habit.

We may become frustrated when it seems that God is not answering our prayers.  On the other hand, we have many examples in our daily lives that illustrate how "no" and "not now" are perfectly proper answers.  As parents, one of our most important tasks is to train our children to become highly functioning adults.  Thus, when our children reach the driving age and ask to start driving, we should be ready to take on the job of teaching them to drive.  If, however, we know they are not mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving, our answer should be "no" or "not now".   While our commitment to them is to train them in new life skills, our more pressing commitment is to insure their protection when they are vulnerable.

While the Lord promises to hear and answer all of our prayers of need, His promises are bound by the higher covenant of preparing us for our eternal life in heaven with Him.  So while He always hears our prayers, sometimes His answers will be "no" or "not now."  Each case will be determined by Him based on where we are on the path of sanctification and spiritual growth.  He will answer us perfectly, in perfect timing in accordance with His will for our lives.  He will apply the same principles in the lives of others when we are praying for what we perceive to be their needs.

Let us rebuke the need for immediate gratification in our lives.  Let us learn the value of waiting on the Lord.  As we wait, let us praise Him for His perfect answers and His perfect timing in all things.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for hearing and answering all of our prayers.  We thank You that You often protect us by not giving us what we ask for when it will take us off the path that You have set aside for our lives.  We pray for the strength to endure when the "nos" and the "not nows" seem so painful.  We ask, Lord, that You help us to keep seeking You so that our prayers will come into alignment with Your will for our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of our mighty and all sufficient provider, Jesus Christ.

The Secret Place of the Morning and the Evening

Matthew 6:6

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Without question, one of Satan's greatest skills is his ability to keep us distracted from building our relationship with God by keeping us focused on the business of life.  One of his greatest lies is planting the seed in our minds that God does not want to hear about everything in our lives.  Through the perfect work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can turn both of Satan's tactics against him.

The first thing that we should do each day in the privacy of the morning is to invite the Holy Spirit to join us throughout the day.  Then everything public in our busy lives will be marked by His presence.  Everything that comes our way as a challenge or a trial can be handed to Him immediately through brief and constant prayer.

Because through the Holy Spirit, we have already given Jesus the burdens of life throughout the day, in the evening we can shut the door on all the cares of the day.  Those cares are no longer there to distract us as we try to pray at night because they are in Jesus' hands, not ours.  Instead of focusing on our cares, we are free to focus on Our God.  We can worship Him, we can praise Him and we can soak in His love.  We can grow in our relationship with Him according to His good and perfect plan for our lives.

Let us learn to slam the door on the daily trials and distractions that life brings our way.  Let us claim the rewards that Our Father in heaven promises us for going to Him in secret.  Let us give all of our burdens to Jesus in the morning and thank Him and praise Him in the evening.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Holy Spirit to be the helper that we can call on to make our burdens light.  We rejoice in His presence with us throughout the day and night.  We pray for the wisdom and the grace to release our cares and concerns to Our Savior throughout the day.  With our burdens in Jesus mighty hands, we ask, Lord, that You teach us how to come to You without distraction in the evening.  May we learn to spend our private prayer time in the evening growing in our relationship with You and refreshing ourselves for the next day to be spent in the yoke of Our Savior.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who lightens our burdens, Jesus Christ.

Putting the Darkness Aside Forever

Genesis 1:3

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

As light was the first work in the creation of the earth, so has light been the first work in the creation of new men or women in Christ.  In both cases the light was brought forth to overcome the pre-existing chaotic darkness that existed.

Jesus is the light, the truth and the way.  No darkness can exist in His presence.  When we accept Him as Our Savior, He comes to dwell within us and the process of removing all the darkness from our lives begins.  All of our sins are brought into the light by the Holy Spirit.  Repentance is required.  To do otherwise is to suggest that we are sufficient in our own ways.  It is not enough to be sorry for our sins.  We must recognize our unworthiness.  We must recognize our need to be cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb.  We must fully submit to Jesus so that we will have the strength to turn away from the darkness, so that we may live in the light.  This process will continue as long as we are in our corrupted bodies.  It will not be completed until we stand before Our Father in heaven at His Throne.

From the beginning of time, darkness has been allowed to exist with light.  When the new earth is perfected for all eternity and comes into place with the new heaven, the darkness will be put aside forever.  When we take our place in God's kingdom, the darkness in our lives will also be set aside forever.

Let us beseech the Holy Spirit to inspect us.  Let us implore Him to reveal every bit of darkness in our lives.  Let us repent of the darkness that is uncovered.  Let us ask for the grace and strength that we need to learn to live in the fullness of the Light of Jesus Christ. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for exposing all the darkness in our lives.  We pray that we will fully submit to the cleansing process.  May Your Light extend to the outer margins of our lives.  May no element of our lives be untouched.  We pray that the complete work of the Blood of the Lamb will prepare us to take our place in heaven for all eternity.  We ask all these things in the name of the Great Eternal Light, Jesus Christ.

The Promise of Peace

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

When Israel had been under the hand of the Midianites for seven years, the Lord came to Gideon.  He promised to bring Israel peace and victory over the Midianites.  He asked Gideon to lead the way.  Gideon questioned the strength of his people and he questioned his own ability to lead the people against the Midianites.  After the Lord provided Gideon with a sign confirming His promise, Gideon led the Israelites in battle.

After the Lord provided the victory, Gideon built an altar to celebrate the victory and to praise God for His fulfilled promise of victory and peace.  Gideon named the altar Jehovah Shalom to honor the one who brought the victory.  Jehovah Shalom means the Lord is peace.

Jehovah Shalom is the name that we can call on when our faith is weak because our world is out of sorts or all odds seem stacked against us.  What a magnificent gift we have in the promise of victory and peace offered by Our Savior.   Jesus promises not any peace, but His peace.  He promises us the same peace that allowed Him to face and overcome the tremendous unsettling in His spirit when He knew the certainty of His upcoming death and agony.   Every unsettling event in our lives can be calmed simply by calling on the name of Jehovah Shalom for He promises us His peace.

Let us claim the peace that Jesus promises us.  Let us show the turbulent world around us that there is peace in His mighty name.  Let us draw others to Him because of the peace in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that we can be certain of peace in our lives even when turmoil surrounds us.  We rejoice in knowing that the Prince of Peace is with us always.  We pray, Father, that our faith will be strong in the face of all adversity.  May we be steadfast in all that You call us to do.  May we be certain to look to Your Son, Jesus, to be our rock and our foundation when we need to overcome our fear.  We ask all these things in the name of Jehovah Shalom, Jesus Christ.

Making Jesus Christ the Fulcrum Of Our Lives

Luke 7:30

But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God's plan for them, for they had refused John's baptism.

God's plan for our lives calls for total surrender to Him.  The enemy has a different plan.  The Pharisees suffered under the hand of Satan as they rejected God's plans in order to follow their own plans which they were deceived into believing were built upon many good things.

The enemy uses all the facets of our lives on earth as areas of distraction in order to keep us from full surrender to Our Lord.  Our work, recreation, hobbies and even family activities can all be big areas of distraction for us.  Ironically, the work that we do as a ministry to support the Body of Christ may also become a distraction that keeps us from digging deep into our relationship with Jesus Christ.  All of these activities can certainly be deemed good in their own right and are likely extremely productive.  That is why Satan is so successful in distracting us from God.  Satan entices us to replace God with good things.

Like the Pharisees, as we pursue all these good things in our lives,  we may miss out on the special things that God has set aside for us.  Oneness with Jesus Christ is the only way for us to successfully balance all that we deal with in life.  Jesus is the fulcrum.  He balances our load by providing the right foundation for all that we do.  When we stay in balance by following the urgings of the Holy Spirit, we can reside in a place of rest and satisfaction unlike anything that we can derive from our own plans.

Let us strive to make Jesus the foundation for everything in our lives.  Let us seek to make Jesus Christ the center of all we do.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us to differentiate the good opportunities in our lives from the God opportunities awaiting us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for using us to carry out Your plans for us and those around us.   We pray, Lord, that You will draw us into full surrender to Your Son.  May we make Him the center of everything in our lives.  We ask that the Holy Spirit will help us to discover the unique plans that You have for our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the One from whom all good things come, Jesus Christ.

Letting Loose of the Things That Hinder Us

Luke 18:22

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

The young ruler, as he is often called, was given the directive to sell what He had and follow Jesus.  It was a hard word for the young man to take.  He walked away from all that Jesus had offered because he could not give up his earthly treasures in exchange for the treasures that Jesus offered to him.

For most all of us, God's words do not come to us in such a direct manner as the words spoken to the young man.  They do not come in clear audible context.  God's directives come to us in the faint internal whisperings of the Holy Spirit.  We receive more of a gentle urging of the spirit rather than an anything audible.  Nonetheless, we are challenged just like the young ruler to decide if God is the most important thing in our lives.

Maybe, unlike the young ruler, it is not our treasures that we are holding on to.  Maybe we are holding on to a job that keeps us away from our family.  Maybe we are holding on to an outside interest that keeps us out of church on Sunday.  Maybe we are holding on to a habit that limits our ability to draw closer to God.  Maybe it is simply pride that is keeping us from fully surrendering to Our Savior.

Whatever it is, it is clear to Our Lord what we are holding on to.  In His loving kindness, He will insure that which we are clinging to is exposed.  The Holy Spirit will reveal the things of the flesh that we are clinging to.  The Holy Spirit will send us urgings that are designed to test our obedience.  If we ignore the urgings, they will become weaker and weaker until they eventually cease.  If we are obedient to the urgings, they will become clearer and clearer to us.  God's inspiration will become a greater part of our lives as we begin to seek the urgings of the Holy Spirit in all of our endeavors.  Through the process of obedience and surrender, we will learn to walk in the fullness of Jesus Christ.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the things that we are placing above God in our lives.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to show us any areas of lack in our spiritual walk with Christ.  Let us submit to the urgings of the Holy Spirit so that we may live the abundant life that God has planned for us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Yourself through the gentle urgings of the Holy Spirit.  We praise You for  providing the ever present Counselor in our daily lives.  We pray that our minds and hearts will be receptive to all that the Holy Spirit brings to us.  We ask for the strength to release the trappings of our flesh that are keeping us from surrendering fully to Your Son.  May our obedience bring richness to our daily walk with Our Savior.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Treasure on earth and in heaven, Jesus Christ.

Even the Demons Have Knowledge About Jesus

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Mary Magdalene was a terrible sinner but she was forgiven from her past sins by Jesus as He cast 7 demons out of her.  She accepted all that He offered to her.  Following her deliverance, Mary Magdalene traveled with Jesus as one of his followers.  She was present at Jesus' two most important moments: the crucifixion and the resurrection.  Based on what Jesus had done for her, Mary was brave enough to stand by Jesus in his hours of suffering, death and beyond. She had a true relationship with her Savior.

On the other hand, when it came to doctrine, Mary was not well schooled.  She certainly would be made to look foolish if challenged in doctrine by the Pharisees who were known for their knowledge of God.  But with all their knowledge about God, they did not know Jesus.  They did not have an intimate, saving relationship with Him.  They did not receive what He had to offer to them.

The Holy Word teaches us that even the demons are profoundly knowledgeable about Jesus, but they do not know Him.  They certainly do not have an intimate relationship with Him.  Full knowledge of Jesus means nothing unless He knows us.  The only way that Jesus knows us (as in accepts us into His kingdom) is if we have accepted Him as Our Savior.  When we respond to Jesus' voice and accept Him as Our Savior, then our relationship with Him springs forth for all eternity.

Let us go to the door and receive the One who knocks.  Let us open our hearts to Him.  Let us seek to have an intimate relationship with Our Savior King.  Let us proclaim our relationship to the world so that others may know Him, too.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing us with a Savior.  We thank You for sending Your Son to this world so that all could know Him.  We thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to open our hearts so that we could receive Your Son as Our Savior.  We pray, Father, that You will teach us how to go beyond our knowledge of who You are and move into a living relationship with Your Son. May Jesus become the center of all we do.  May others come to know Him through our living testimonies.  We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.